Career Center

The Career Center is available to help students and alumni take the next step in their career.

Preparing for a Second Interview

Chances are good that if you’re being invited back for a second round of interviews, then you’ve made a good initial impression and have something that they want. How do you show your initiative in a way that you can be the candidate to make a lasting impression that the company will not soon forget?

Create and Present Your Strategic Plan.

If you’ve asked the right questions in your first round of interviews, and you are truly excited about this potential opportunity, then you should have a pretty good idea as to what you will do to be successful in this role. You should be able to identify a strategic plan, based upon your knowledge of the role as it is today. Your strategic plan can be “make the difference” for you in your second round of the interview process.

Consider the following primary factors of this plan:

Having a Vision / Overview

Based upon what you have heard in the interview, you should know the vision / overview of the department or company. What impact will you make within your first 60/90 days that can be tied back to the company reaching its goals?

Know the Product - Establish a working knowledge of products or services to create long-term value in your employment.

Be Credible - Become a leader among your peers by spearheading initiatives, collaborating with the leadership team, or presenting to your department.

Establishing Trust with Clients and Colleagues

Establishing trust is essential for success in any role. What will you do to establish a high degree of trust within your piece of the company or amongst your peers?

Make Introductions - Meet with key stakeholders in the company or department. This is beneficial on all fronts. It offers an opportunity for you to demonstrate your skills, but also allows you to get their perspectives on the company and projects.

Share Expectations - Understand the leadership team's expectations. This is paramount to your success. Investigate revenue objectives, if possible, to set your personal goals. Think about setting “best practices” that may be beneficial to the company and your role. This will include understanding client needs and identifying what may have been learned from any mistakes along the way.

Create Buy-In and Set Priorities - Identify how you will partner with the leadership team to create attainable goals for success. Fully understand the company mission statement and be able to share it with others. This represents a degree of commitment and clarity on the corporate goals.

Setting Goals and Objectives

You need to fully understand your new role in order to be successful, and you must approach it as a business. In doing so, it’s critical that you identify your personal goals and objectives for success in this new capacity.

Determine the Objectives - Educate yourself daily on a new aspect of the company, the expectations or the job. Establish product expertise within the first 30 days of employment. Build cross-departmental relationships with departments that are responsible for supporting your success.

Shape a Methodology - Identify the steps that you will take to accomplish your objectives. For every objective that is listed, you should have a supporting methodology for the accomplishment.

Reflect on Success - Identify how you will evaluate or measure the success of your contributions.

Setting yourself apart from the rest of the candidates is critical to having a lasting impact on the person or team that is interviewing you. By entering into the second round interview prepared with a strategic plan, you are sure to launch yourself over any bar that is set before you.